“More than 520,000 people in the UK have dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease and this figure is set to rise.” – Alzheimer’s Society

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World Alzheimer’s Day is a day in which people come together to raise awareness around Alzheimer’s Disease and offer advice and support to people living with the condition as well as to friends & families.

“Dementia is the name for a set of symptoms that includes memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. Dementia develops when the brain is damaged by diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.” – Alzheimer’s Society

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Alzheimer’s & The Access Card

Here at The Access Card, we support many cardholders to help them discreetly communicate the barriers they might face when out and about or visiting shows, events, or tourist destinations and have provided some more information about some of the typical access requirements we have processed.

Everyone is different and experiences their needs in different ways, but here are some examples based on our experience.

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Standing & Queuing

Whether you have difficulty with physically being in a queue for a significant period of time, difficulty with the concept of queuing, or have difficulty with being in a queue/ crowded spaces, the ‘Standing & Queuing’ symbol can be added to your Access Card to help communicate this access requirement. 

Different providers have their own ways of accommodating this access requirement.

For example, Chessington World of Adventures Resort accepts Access Cards with the ‘Standing & Queuing’ symbol as proof for a Ride Access Pass.

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What is a Ride Access Pass?

“A Ride Access Pass is a virtual queuing system designed to make reasonable adjustments to assist guests who do not understand the concept of queuing, have a physical disability that prevents them standing for extended periods of time or permanently non-ambulant guests.”

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Essential Companions

For those that require a substantial amount of support from another person when out & about, we have the ‘+1’ symbol which indicates to providers that you would need a substantial amount of support to be able to access their facilities.

Different providers have different systems in place to facilitate this access requirement.

For example, Cambridge Theatre accepts Access Cards with the ‘+1’ symbol as proof for a free essential companion ticket.

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Additional Access Requirements

The ‘Additional Access Requirements’ symbol is used to indicate that you have additional access requirements that haven’t already been covered by the other symbols & you can communicate these access requirements with different venues & attractions.

A lot of venues & attractions will include additional information about their events/services on their website. This may include information about the use of strobe lighting & smoke machines during performances, which can be an issue for people with epilepsy. Please refer to each venue’s website for this information.

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